Open Orphan wins €4m contract to conduct trial for new RSV treatment

Dublin-listed pharmaceutical services company says contract is with top three pharma group

Open Orphan is also working on an antibody testing service that will have capacity for up to 3,000 tests per day. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP
Open Orphan is also working on an antibody testing service that will have capacity for up to 3,000 tests per day. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP

Dublin-listed pharmaceutical services company Open Orphan has secured a €4 million contract to trial a new treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract.

The study commissioned by a leading pharma group will take place at Open Orphan subsidiary hVivo's quarantine facility in Whitechapel, London and is expected to be completed by the end of quarter one 2021.

"This is another exciting new contract win with a new customer for Open Orphan's subsidiary hVivo as we convert the substantial pipeline that is building up within the company," Open Orphan chairman Cathal Friel said.

“This contract, with a top three global pharmaceutical company, is evidence of the high regard hVivo is held in within the industry and reinforces our position as the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials.”

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“As a group we are focused on winning and delivering high-quality, profitable contracts and this is another example of our delivery against that strategy,” he said.

Open Orphan, which recently acquired London-based hVivo, announced in June it had developed the world’s first challenge study model to test the efficacy of the large number of potential Covid-19 vaccines.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times